General

For Sino European trade, the increased attractiveness of cooperation and the declining business environment in the EU are to some extent like two sides of a coin. In the past year, against the backdrop of repeated delays in the global epidemic and the slow recovery of the world economy, Sino European trade and investment cooperation has enjoyed a good momentum. In 2022, the total bilateral trade in goods reached 847.3 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.4% year-on-year. China and the EU are each other's second largest trading partners; Chinese enterprises have invested US $7 billion in the EU, and their investment stock in the EU has reached US $102.9 billion.

However, at the same time, "the business environment of the EU will decline in 2022, posing a greater challenge to foreign-funded enterprises.". According to the "EU Business Environment Report 2021/2022" released by the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade on March 29, 33.04% of the surveyed enterprises believe that the EU business environment is deteriorating, an increase of 5.86 percentage points over the previous year.

Zhao Ping, Vice President of the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that China-EU cooperation is related to the stability of the global landscape and the prosperity of the Eurasian continent. "We look forward to the continuous improvement of the business environment in the EU, with foreign enterprises playing a greater role in promoting economic growth and employment in the EU, and creating broader space for trade cooperation between China and the EU."

The business environment of the EU will decline in 2022

Zhao Ping expressed that since 2022, China EU relations have maintained overall stability, with frequent high-level exchanges and close communication on international issues between the two sides, which has brought a relatively stable cooperation environment for both enterprises. China and the European Commission have jointly prepared an updated version of the Common Classification Catalogue of Sustainable Finance to jointly establish a green finance cooperation mechanism; Positive progress has been made in cooperation on major projects between China and the EU; China and France agreed to accelerate the implementation of the fourth round of demonstration project list for third-party market cooperation; The cooperation on geographical indications between China and the EU has achieved practical results, and the two sides have achieved mutual recognition and mutual protection of 244 geographical indication products.

However, in the past three years, there have been some twists and turns in China EU relations. According to the report, Chinese companies in Europe believe that the EU market is still attractive, but in 2022, the business environment in the EU will decline, posing significant challenges to foreign companies. Among them, the EU continues to add new policy tools, increasing market access barriers, and enterprises are facing dual challenges of market access and localized operations. According to the survey, 45.64% of the surveyed enterprises believe that the EU market access barriers have increased, and 40% of the surveyed enterprises have changed their investment plans due to the EU's foreign investment review; 61.4% of the surveyed enterprises believe that the EU and some of its member countries have a tendency to politicize economic issues; 34.21% of the surveyed enterprises indicated that there is significant uncertainty in their cooperation with EU enterprises.

Zhao Ping introduced that in response to problems in the business environment in the EU, Chinese enterprises in Europe have put forward ten suggestions, including resuming the approval process of the EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement as soon as possible, and promoting the early signing of the agreement; Recommend that the EU uphold the basic principles of the World Trade Organization such as reciprocity, transparency, market access, fair competition, and non discrimination; Carry out bilateral dialogue and consultation on foreign investment review, foreign subsidy regulations, international procurement tools, etc., eliminate interference factors, and jointly promote the stability and long-term development of China EU relations.

A good business environment is the common expectation of foreign funded enterprises, and will also have greater attraction for Chinese enterprises. According to the survey, 28.7% of Chinese companies surveyed would expand their investment in Europe if the EU relaxed its foreign investment review; If the China EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement is signed and implemented, 40.87% of the Chinese enterprises interviewed will increase their investment in Europe.

China EU Economic and Trade Cooperation Has Broad Space

2023 will be a very important year for China EU relations. Recently, senior European leaders have sent some very positive signals: First, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez "took the lead" and said that he will visit China soon; French President Malone and European Commission President von der Leyen also seek to visit China in early April; In addition, there are reports that the European Union's top foreign policy official Borrelli and Italian Prime Minister Meloni are also interested in visiting China.

"The high-level dialogue between China and the EU will continue to promote the stability and prosperity of China EU trade relations. Friendly cooperation between China and the EU is the trend of the times. There are no geopolitical conflicts or fundamental conflicts of interest between China and the EU, and there is huge room for cooperation between the two sides in the fields of sustainable development, green finance, digital economy, multilateral cooperation, and global governance." Zhao Ping said. In Zhao Ping's view, China EU economic and trade cooperation has a solid foundation, with complementary economic structures and broad common interests in many fields. There is broad space for China EU trade cooperation in the future.

She further analyzed that China and the EU have broad prospects for jointly building the "the Belt and Road". In 2022, despite the tight global shipping and air transportation capacity, China Europe Europe Express continued to operate 160000 trains and send 1.6 million standard containers of goods, with year-on-year growth of 9% and 10% respectively. China and leaders of EU members such as Poland, Luxembourg and Malta have reached consensus on high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the "Silk Road in the Air", and the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has become a popular international public product and international cooperation platform.

At the same time, there is great potential for cooperation between China and the EU in the fields of green and science and technology. China and the EU share broad common interests in addressing climate change and environmental protection, as well as common positions on global goals such as overall emission reduction and maintaining green ecology. Strengthening cooperation between China and the EU in the field of science and technology not only has a good foundation for cooperation, but also conforms to the practical benefits of both sides. In the future, both sides will accelerate the implementation of research and development projects, the establishment of cooperation mechanisms, and the cultivation of scientific and technological talents in fields such as agriculture, food and biotechnology, climate change, and biodiversity.

"In addition, we can promote win-win development through third-party market cooperation." Zhao Ping said that as of September 2022, China had signed third-party market cooperation agreements with EU members such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Austria, and established diversified cooperation platforms such as working groups, cooperation forums, cooperation funds, and steering committees. "China and the EU complement each other in their industrial chains and have a high degree of economic fit. Developing third-party market cooperation will help fully leverage the comparative advantages of both industries and promote the deep integration of overseas markets."